Box with Fitted Lid

A simple box with fitted lid and optionally divided compartments

Arguably, the simplest project of all is one where all features are cut out from a single piece of stock. The earliest wooden boxes were made thus, characterized as a dug out chest, usually with a single compartment. The development of the electric router brought such designs back into vogue.

As with all projects, we begin by defining the parameters of the design and its display:

Fitted Pencil Box Parameters

Then a module for cutting the desired shapes:

Fitted Pencil Box module for cutting pockets at specified depth and location

Then modules for cutting each part:

Fitted Pencil Box top module

Fitted Pencil Box bottom module setup

Fitted Pencil Box bottom module loop

Creating a file for cutting is simply a matter of capturing each elevation of features:

Available at:

Design into 3D: Pencil Box | BlocksCADwww.blockscad3d.com

The project can then be exported to OpenSCAD code and modified to use the customizer:

Width = 8.25; Depth = 2.625; Height = 0.625; Units = 25.4; // [1:Millimeters, 25.4:Inches] Number_of_Rows = 2; Number_of_Columns = 3; Large_Compartment = "Depth-wise"; // [Width-wise, Depth-wise, None] Corner_Radius = 0.25; Lid_Proportion = 40; Stock_Thickness = 0.5625; Endmill_Diameter = 0.125; my_3D_Preview = false; $fn=80;

Fitted Pencil Box in OpenSCAD with customization

Add the command:

projection()

to get a flattened view which may be exported to a DXF or SVG and then imported into Carbide Create:

Fitted Pencil Box in OpenSCAD projection

Once imported into Carbide Create it is simply a matter of assigning toolpaths:

Fitted Pencil Box in Carbide Create

Files are available at: https://community.carbide3d.com/t/fitted-box-design-generator-underway/13437/29

One or more variations

The problem with the generator, is that even the most minor change requires re-creating the toolpaths.

One thing which is persistent as regards toolpaths, but which is easily changed is text, so if one had a box design which had for its dividers a character from a single font, one could change the number of dividers as simply as re-typing a number, and still have the product ready to run.

First step is to make a font which has dividers for numbers, so:

Design into 3D font for round box dividers

This font is available at: https://community.carbide3d.com/t/fitted-box-design-generator-underway/13437/30

It works when placed in the Carbide 3D font directory (Help | About | Open Data Directory).

Once installed, load the Carbide Create file, select the center divider, then choose the font tool and replace the number with the number of dividers you want:

Fitted round box with variable dividers

Fitted round box with 2 or 7 dividers